More of Less

In the past few months I feel like God has been bringing to my attention all the excess in my life. Every where I look I see more clothes then I ever wear, more stuff then I ever use, more CD's then I ever listen to, and so on. In the past all this "stuff" has always made me feel like I am doing well in life, but recently it has only served to make be feel overwhelmed by all my options.


So rather than continue to live in this overwhelmed state that is dulling my senses I am making efforts to minimize. This has always been a hard thing for me to do since I am a pack-rat by nature. I have a hard time letting go of things because I have sentimental attachments or special memories tied to so many of the physical objects in my life. So I never really try to get rid of things.

But about a month ago I had had enough. I boxed up 3 large boxes of clothing that I planned to take to charity. When my dear friend Kristen heard me mention this she suggested that we have a clothing exchange. She invited a bunch of friends to clean out their closets too and bring all the clothes together so people can see if there is anything that they would like. Then whatever was left we would take to charity. There was so much clothing and shoes I couldn't believe it! It was fun to see people getting excited about the stuff I brought and finding a new treasure for their closets. I even found a few things for myself. But it was still a major down sizing for me. And the thing that suprised me is how fun and easy it was to get rid of so much stuff. And two weeks later I have no regrets in getting rid of any of it. In fact it makes me want to do the same kind of thing with CD's, books and movies.

Today is the start of the season of Lent. A season to slow down and take a step back from all the "stuff" of life and prepare our hearts for the joy that awaits us in celebrating Easter. And as I think of the lessons God has been teaching me the past few months I find that it's no coincidence that He chose this time of year. So as I try to continue on my journey to lessen the distractions of all the stuff around me I want to dedicate this effort to Christ and ask that through cutting these distrations from my life that my heart and mind would be free to see all that God longs to show me.

For Lent this year I have decided to give up a few things to open up more space for God in my heart and life. I am going to cut out TV Monday-Friday from the hours of 5-8 PM. It is so easy to come home after a long day of work and just plop down on the couch for an evening of numbing TV. Till Easter, I will instead choose to devote this time to bible study, prayer, silence, and other activities that will serve to draw me into the presence of God. Also in my quest to continue to minimize the distraction of "stuff" in my life I will refrain from shopping, with the exception of grocries. Any time that I would have spent shopping will instead be used to enjoy all the truest gifts that God give freely, like family, friends, and creation.

If any of you are planning to observe Lent this year I would love to hear how you will participate so that I can pray for you and encourage you along the way. Blessing to all!

Inspiration from the Shores of Walden Pond

About a year and a half ago I had the pleasure of going to the east coast to visit friends. One of the stops we made was to the little town of Concord, just west of Boston. This quaint little town is so rich with history and inspiration. While there I had the chance to stand on the shores of Walden Pond where Henry David Thoreau lived and wrote for many years of his life. It was such a rich experience to stand in the place that inspire these words... As I ponder Thoreau's thoughts I long, as he did, to "live deliberately." I find myself growing numb as I am buried by all the "conveniences" of modern life. Since I live alone, on the nights I am home for dinner I find that I turn on the TV for company. But last night I longed for quiet. So I fixed my dinner and sat down in my favorite chair with my plate in my lap. Normally I would have just started eating, giving little thought to the act, but last night I just sat for a moment. Drinking in the blessing of knowing I was about to enjoy a hot meal. Being fully aware that I am rich with so many blessings. I said a little prayer of thanksgiving and then I began to eat. With out the TV on I was able to saver every bit, enjoying flavors that took me back to happy memories of childhood.

I wish that these kind of moments came more often in my life. I wish that I was more thoughtful about the things I do, even the common place tasks like eating or cleaning. I feel like God is gently calling to me through this experience to "front only the essential facts of life." There is so much excess in my life, so much more than what is needed. But, I am frightened at the thought of cutting things out of my life because there is comfort in the familiarity of my current routine. But I have to ask myself if I would really miss so many of the things that I cling to? Would my life have less meaning or fulfillment is I cut a few small things out?

I want to live life to its fullest. I want to accept that gracious invitation that God so lovingly offers for "life, and life abundant." But isn't it just like God to set things up so that the "more" only comes with "less"?

Spring Cleaning Came Early

When I woke up on Saturday morning to the sun shining and the birds chirping something in me just needed to clean. And for anyone who knows me well this is a very unusual phenomenon. So I got out of bed and began to work on cleaning my room. My closet has this weird habit of spewing nearly its entire content on the floor, so the first order of business was to clear the floor for some much needed vacuuming. Another part of clearing the floor was sorting through all the paper (the majority of which was credit card offers and junk mail that piles up).

I am a little shocked an appalled by the amount of junk mail in my apartment! It is such a waste of paper, money, and time (considering I spent a few hours just on shredding credit card offers and other stuff with personal info on it). I am going to do some searching on the internet today to see if I can't find some sort of way to stop this ridiculous junk mail, or at least to decrease it significantly. By the way I ended up with two trashbags full of shredded paper for recycling!

I vacuumed, dusted, boxed up some clothing to give to charity, organized my desk, took out the trash and recycling, and did 5 loads of laundry. I felt so accomplished by the end. I still have more organizing to do but I think I really got the big of things I wanted to accomplish done. Next I need to tackle my storage unit down in the basement. I want to get it organized so I can actually get to everything that is in there. Hopefully I came keep this momentum going.

I also found a few treasure in my cleaning endevour. Among them a Starbucks giftcard for $5.

Some Art to Ponder

For some reason today I was thinking about art I have seen in my life that has moved me. One piece that comes to mind is a video/sound installation that I saw at the Bellevue Art Museum with my sister about 5 years ago. It was called "He Weeps for You" by Bill Viola.

I wanted to share this work of art with all of you (though I fear it will not be as moving as it was in person). Here are a few photos and a description I was able to find online. "A drop of water emerging from a small brass valve is magnified by a video camera and projected on a large screen. The close-up image reveals that the viewer and a portion of the room are visible inside each forming drop. The drop swells and finally falls, and a loud sound is heard when it lands on an amplified drum. The entire room and persons in it are subject to the cadence of the falling drops, which continue in infinite repetition and reflection.

What an amazing concept! I love that I became a part of this work of art. It was a magical experience to walk into a dark room, see this strange contraption before me and watch as a drop of water gradually grow revealing a reflection of me. And when the drop fell it was as if my heart fell with it and I shuttered as the sound from the drum echoed in my ears. I have never been so moved by a piece of art!

So many thoughts swarm through my head as I think about the title, "He Weeps for You." Mostly I think about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the night that he was betrayed and arrested and the tears he shed as he thought about what was soon to take place. Did each of those tears contain a tiny reflection of the world God longed to save in that great sacrifice? Did the ground thunder as each tear fell and broke into a million peices? What tradgic beauty!

With the news just in from Punxsutawney Phil...

After consulting with my friends in the groundhog community I am afraid that the next 6 weeks will be filled with more of this dismal winter weather. This is something that most definitely makes me feel a bit sad. These gray, cold, rainy days are really starting to take their toll on me.

Even with Punxsutawny Phil's bad news the day has not been a total bust. My old roommate and fellow monkey enthusiast, Melissa, introduced me to the most wonderful world of Monk-E-Mail at CareerBuilder.com (remember all the commercial with the chimps in the offices?)

Things at work have been rather slow the past week but thanks to Monk-e-mail today has been full of laughs. I mean truly, the way to fix any problem is simple just add a talking chimp. Just give it a try and I am sure you will find yourself doubled over in laughter.

Some New Ways for the New Year

Being that it is now 18 days into this fine New Year, I have had some time to do a little thinking on what I will resolve to do this year. I have been trying to figure out what I want this year to be about. What do I want to spend the next 347 days exploring and achieving? Here are a few of the things I have come up with...

COMMUNITY. I want this year to be marked with growing intimacy as I seek to love and know those that I share my life with. I have plans to start a small group with a few dear friends, to challenge and encourage each other as we seek to grow in our faith. And I also want to set aside one day a month to write letters to those that are far away or those I know who need a little pick me up in their mailbox. But basically I just want new depth in old relationship and to seek new relationships as I participate more fully in life.

CREATIVITY. 2005 was a year of discovering new gifts and new passions and my hope is that 2006 will be the year that I truly strive to grow in these gifts. I have been exploring the wonderful art of songwriting. Somehow all those thoughts and feelings that I have had such a hard time communicating fully in the past have found a voice in song. I want to grow as a musician, a singer and a songwriter. I want to surround myself with creative people and ideas that can continue to challenge me and encourage me to stretch my heart and imagination.

COURAGE. There are so many things in my life that I long to do but so often I let fear of failure or rejection take hold of me and keep me from my hearts desires. My hope is that this year I can make great strides in doing the things I most fear, but still long for. Whether it is playing a show to share the songs I have been writing, competing in my first triathlon, or asking a guy out on a date I want to throw caution to the wind. This year I want to claim the abundant life God so graciously offers, but I seldom have courage enough to grab hold of.

May this year be rich in blessing, challenge and transformation for all of us as we seek to be all that we were made to be!

A Winter Reprieve

Last night it was hard to sleep as the wild wind howled outside my window. The flag pole in the courtyard along with the trees were battling it out with the wind throughout the night as I peered through the blinds of my bedroom. I thought I might awake this morning to find them all uprooted but they managed to stand victorious through the night.

The rain in Seattle has been falling with little pause this last week and winter seems to be making herself known. Sometimes it is hard to appreciate the true beauty and blessing of this winter weather, but I have to keep reminding myself that sights like this only come after the rain.

Just a little glimpse of what awaits us on the other side of winter. The bright, warm beauty of a world waking up from a long winters nap. So hang in there my friends for soon we will be frolicing in the tulip fields!

A Christmas Song

Who Would Have Thought?

by

Bree Aseltine (c)2005

There in the hay the new babe was laid

Who would have thought, God's come down from heaven?

Sweet, baby child so tender and mild

Who would have thought, here lies my Savior?

Beautiful baby asleep in the manger

Oh how we love, love that you've come

Oh tiny Savior, peace like a river

Pours from my soul as I rest in your life

Small, tiny fingers that reach out for mother

Who would have thought, one touch can heal me?

The littelest feet, toes tinier still

Who would have thought, He'll soon walk on water?

Beautiful baby asleep in the manger

Oh how we love, love that you've come

Oh tiny Savior, peace like a river

Pours from my soul as I rest in your life

You have come

You are here

So we celebrate

There in the hay the new babe was laid

Who would have thought, God's come down from heaven?

The Greatest Gift

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of heading downtown to hear on of the Seattle Symphony perform one of the most beautiful and moving pieces of music ever created, Handel's Messiah.

At my church back in California we always sang the Hallelujah chorus at Easter and there was another instance at a Barnes & Noble were I put on some headphones in the music section to listen to a bit of "Messiah," but was relatively unfamiliar with just how beautiful it really is. I was excited to hear this masterpiece in its entirety. And excited too for my first trip to Benaroya Hall to hear the symphony.

As we took out seats and waited eagerly for the performance to begin I started looking through the program. All the words were printed there for me to read and I was amazed at what I saw before me. The entire thing, every word, was scripture. Here I was in this great music hall with hundreds and hundreds of other people I prepared to worship.

I began to wonder about all the other people there. Granted, the title is "Messiah" but did everyone there come to worship. I am certain that in a crowd of that size there would be many who do not know the Lord. But why had they come? I hope that as those people sat listening to the beautiful account of the God who left heaven to dwell among the people that he loves and longs to save that their heart were touched. I hope that each person left that place in awe of that story and in awe of the God gave such a precious gift.

As Christmas day fast approaches I feel blessed to know the true story behind this holiday. I am honored that God would give such a precious gift for me. The Great and Powerful God of heaven became a tiny, helpless baby. He gave up everything to come and live in the same world that I must live in. He came to take the punishment that I deserve. He came to be my Savior.

Where to begin...

It feels as if there are so many thoughts swirling around in my head these days. I need an outlet, a place to share freely the thoughts and feelings du jour. I have been blessed and challanged by this strange new art of blogging that I have decided I would take a stab at it.

So you maybe wondering now, "Why Tiny Offerings?" You may or may not know this about me but I am a songwriter. I wrote a song earlier this year about the story of the widow's mite from Luke 21. After a series of events in my own life I could not shake this story from my head. This remarkable woman's story struck a chord in my heart that I had to write about it. The song goes like this...

Two Small Coins
by Bree Aseltine (c) 2005

He stopped to watch her as she entered into His temple
She looked so small and simple there among the rich and the powerful
Clutched between her fingers were two small coins too small for worth

She came with all she had
She came with everything
Will you join with her and bring your everything?

He shed a tear and smiled as he watched her give her gift
And though its value small that gift was worth eternal bliss
So when I feel small and poor I will give what I have with joy

She gave all she had
She gave everything
Will you join with her and give your everything

Not a mite should I withhold from you, my Lord
For nothing I can bring is too small to please my King

We all have some tiny, yet eternally valuable offering to bring. I hope that this blog will help serve as a place to share my tiny offerings. Sometimes it may be song lyrics, sometimes random thoughts, perhaps a photograph or a quote. What ever the form these offerings take I hope they serve to bless your hearts and the heart of my King.